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Ireland needs to recycle an additional 400,000 tonnes of waste every year

Date released: September 23, 2025

  • Ireland is predicted to miss targets for recycling municipal and packaging waste for 2025.
  • An additional 400,000 tonnes of recycling is needed to reach our targets.
  • Packaging waste generation has increased almost four times faster than recycling since 2016.
  • Plastic packaging recycling rate is just 30 per cent, significantly below the required target for 2025 of 50 per cent.
  • Construction waste is Ireland’s largest waste stream, reaching nine million tonnes in 2023.

24 September 2025: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has published its latest data on municipal, packaging and construction and demolition waste for the 2023 reporting year. EPA data shows that in 2023:

  • Ireland’s municipal recycling rate is 42 per cent, significantly below the 55 per cent target.
  • Ireland’s packaging waste recycling rate is 59 per cent and the 65 per cent target is at risk.
  • Ireland’s plastic packaging recycling rate is 30 per cent, significantly off the 50 per cent target.

While 1.3 million tonnes of municipal waste were recycled, this represents no improvement in recycling rates over the past decade. Investment in waste infrastructure is needed to reduce our reliance on overseas facilities with 1.2 million tonnes of municipal waste exported in 2023.

Opportunities to reduce, reuse and recycle valuable materials and resources are also being missed. Packaging waste generation is excessive, and our rate of waste generation is increasing more than we are increasing recycling capacity.

It is now almost certain that mandatory recycling targets that apply from 2025 will be missed.

Commenting, David Flynn, Director of the EPA’s Office of Environmental Sustainability, EPA said:

“Ireland’s waste generation is too high. Our report highlights that Ireland needs to make measurable progress on stalled recycling rates and reduce overall consumption. Ireland needs to recycle 400,000 more tonnes of waste each year than we currently do.  To address this we need investment in recycling infrastructure and to stop exporting a significant amount of our municipal waste to other countries.”

Construction is the most wasteful sector with nine million tonnes of construction waste generated in 2023.  As the industry grows, companies need to urgently prevent waste and maximise the use of recycled and recyclable products.

Commenting, Warren Phelan, Programme Manager of the EPA’s Circular Economy Programme said:

“Ireland’s economy uses significant raw materials producing valuable products and materials - but also lots of waste. If we are serious about moving to an economy which values resources and materials, we need to support innovation for low waste businesses as well as lean production, remanufacturing and circular supply chains. Materials and wastes are a cost to businesses, we need to value and retain materials, and our policies must incentivise circular businesses.”

The EPA’s national waste statistics are published on the EPA website where more information on all of the waste streams is available.

Further information: Emily Williamson, EPA Media Relations Office:

053-91 70770 (24 hours) and media@epa.ie

Notes to editor:

Summary of key data:

Municipal Waste

  • The municipal recycling rate remains stagnant around 42 per cent, with waste mounting to 3.1 million tonnes in 2023, up from 2.7 million tonnes in 2016.
  • Predictive modelling carried out by the EPA, forecasting years 2024-2026, indicates that Ireland will not meet the 2025 EU recycling target of 55 per cent.
  • 43 per cent of municipal waste was incinerated with energy recovery, while 13 per cent went to landfill.
  • Total exports of municipal waste for treatment in 2023 were 1.2 million tonnes or 45 per cent.

Packaging

  • The overall packaging recycling rate fell in 2023 by one per cent to 59 per cent, well below the EU target of 65 per cent by 2025.
  • Ireland generated over 1.2 million tonnes of packaging waste in 2023.
  • The data shows that while recycling of some materials is going well (glass & wood), others—particularly plastic and metals—require urgent attention to improve segregation and incentivise reuse and recycling over recovery.
  • Reusable packaging: accounted for less than 2 per cent of all packaging placed on the market.
  • Plastic packaging: Only 30 per cent recycled; 70 per cent incinerated with energy recovery.
  • Paper & Cardboard packaging: 76 per cent recycled, but volumes remain high.
  • Metal packaging: Ferrous metal recycling dropped below target; aluminium improved but still below 2025 goal.
  • Glass and Wood packaging: Met both 2025 and 2030 targets.

Construction & Demolition

  • Half of all waste generated in Ireland is C&D waste mounting to nine million tonnes in 2023.
  • 81 per cent of this waste consisted of soil and stones, the dominant material type.
  • While Ireland surpassed the EU recovery target of 70 per cent, achieving a 73 per cent recovery rate, the overall volume of waste continues to rise.
  • In 2023, over 2.7 million tonnes of greenfield soil and stones were determined to be safe for reuse through the EPA National By-product criteria, preventing waste and supporting circular practices. EPA’s End-of-Waste criteria for recycled aggregates further promotes recycling in construction, reducing landfill use and environmental impact. These measures are key to advancing Ireland’s circular economy, especially in high-volume sectors like construction.
  • The EPA compiles official statistics on waste generation and treatment in Ireland. The figures in this release relate to reference year 2023. These figures are used for reporting on Ireland’s performance in meeting its legal obligations, for policy and waste management planning purposes and to inform the general public. Data are compiled through surveys of waste operators and administrative data sources, in cooperation with other public authorities.  EPA waste data is published on the EPA website on an ongoing basis throughout the year.
  • Circular economy: A circular economy is one where materials, including packaging, are recirculated, and used again and again, and waste is minimised. To facilitate the move to a more circular economy, the European Commission put forward a Circular Economy Package in December 2015, which includes revised legislative proposals on waste, as well as a comprehensive Action Plan. The Irish Government published a new national waste policy, A Waste Action Plan for a Circular Economy, in September 2021.
  • Municipal Waste: the waste we all produce every day in our homes, offices, businesses and schools. It includes household and non-household (commercial) waste.
  • Recovery: means any operation the principal result of which is waste serving a useful purpose by replacing other materials which would otherwise have been used to fulfil that function, or waste being prepared to fulfil that function, in the plant or in the wider economy. Annex II of the Waste Framework Directive (2008/98/EC) sets out a non-exhaustive list of recovery operations, which include material recovery (i.e. recycling), energy recovery (i.e. use a fuel other than in direct incineration, or other means to generate energy) and biological recovery (e.g. composting).
  • Recycling: means any recovery operation by which waste materials are reprocessed into products, materials or substances whether for the original or other purposes. It includes the reprocessing of organic material but does not include energy recovery and the reprocessing into materials that are to be used as fuels or for backfilling operations.